Rash vows

Judges 11:30- 31
Ecclesiastes 5:2 says: “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God.” Scripture records the vows of many men and women. Some of these vows proved to be rash and unwise, and others, though extreme, were kept to the letter by those who made them. Let us learn from the examples in God’s Word not to make rash vows.

Jacob

Vow: To “choose” the true God and to give back a tenth to him if he kept him safe (Genesis 28:20)
Result: God protected Jacob, who kept his vow to follow God

Jephthah

Vow: To offer to the Lord whoever came out to meet him after battle (it turned out to be his daughter) (Judges 11:30, 31)
Result: He lost his daughter

Hannah

Vow: To give her son back to God if God would give her a son (1 Samuel 1:9- 11)
Result: When Samuel was born, she dedicated him to God

Saul

Vow: To kill anyone who ate before evening (Jonathan, his son, had not heard the command and broke it) (1 Samuel 14:24- 45)
Result: Saul would have killed Jonathan if soldiers had not intervened

David

Vow: To be kind to Jonathan’s family (2 Samuel 9:7)
Result: Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, was treated royally by David

Ittai

Vow: To remain loyal to David (2 Samuel 15:21)
Result: He became one of the great men in David’s army

Micaiah

Vow: To say only what God told him to say (1 Kings 22:14)
Result: He was put in prison

Job

Vow: That he was not rebelling against God (Job 42:10)
Result: His fortunes were restored

Herod Antipas

Vow: To give Herodias’s daughter anything she requested (Mark 6:22, 23)
Result: Herod was forced to order John the Baptist’s death

Paul

Vow: To offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving in Jerusalem (Acts 18:18)
Result: He made the sacrifice despite the danger